Like everyone, Maria Lewan has lots of opinions. Unlike other people, Lewan sometimes gets paid for her opinions, as one of the women and men who periodically participate in local focus groups.
Lewan got her first taste of official opinion-giving a few years ago, when she was called by Martin Focus Group Centres in Alexandria. She and nine other women were asked to participate in a focus group evaluating a proposed new product by Maytag.
Since then, Lewan has evaluated bras, juice, blood pressure, radio stations and the National Police Memorial, for Martin Focus Group Centres and Metro Research Services. "I think it's fun, and it's a good way to get extra income," said Lewan. "I enjoy it so much, I would almost do it for free."
She won’t be able to quit her day job, teaching at St. Aidan's Preschool, and become a professional focus-group member. Research firm clients usually stipulate that members can participate only once every six months.
"We really have to stay away from the professional responders," said Laura Jones, project director at Metro Research. "Every day we have people who call looking to be in a focus group."
MOST FOCUS GROUPS consist of 8-10 participants. To get this number, about 100 people are called, since an average of one in 10 database members qualifies. A dozen people are selected; this allows for cancellations or no-shows.
If all 12 participants do show, then some will be "paid and sent," basically paid just for showing up. Sometimes when that happens, the participants get upset, said Donna Carter, assistant manager at Martin. But she said that it's no reflection on their qualifications.
Most people who are called think it is well worth their while. The groups can last from 60-90 minutes, and participants are paid $50-$75, although some targeted groups can pay as much as $225.
"What I like to tell people is that you can get paid for your opinions and there's no catch," said Cheri Zeman. Four years ago, she built the local branch of Martin Research, Inc., (the parent group of Martin Focus Group Centres) from scratch and was director until she left to serve as deputy director of United Community Ministries.
Her biggest challenge when she started was building the database. "The most important part of creating a focus center is to create a database. It's the lifeblood of the company,” she said. “A focus group is only as good as its participants.”
WORKING WITH PTAS and other groups, Zeman used creative ways to build the database.
In addition to her clients’ desire to avoid professional focus groupers, Zeman had to deal with participants who didn’t qualify for a group, either because of time conflicts or inability to meet screening criteria. As a result, the list of names required to run an operation such as this is extensive.
Zeman said that they started holding focus groups in rented hotel rooms before they even had their office. Martin also does one-on-one interviews, questionnaires and political group studies.
“We help whoever calls,” said Steve Weachter, manager of the Martin Focus Group Centres in Alexandria. “It could be about cigarette smoking, drinking, whatever. We could even have a group to evaluate Pepsi one day and Coke the next."
Carter recalls a time when they had a Republican evaluation group in one room and Democrats in another.
TO GET INTO the database, participants sign up with the company. There is no cold calling, although sometimes fliers are left at colleges or places that might have the demographics a company is looking for.
"Nobody gets in the database unless they want to be in it," said Carter.
To qualify, participants are asked a series of questions. It may be as few as a three or four, or as exhaustive as a few pages. "We used a myriad of techniques to screen," said Zeman. "We try to find answers without people realizing they're giving them."
They might ask, "If this car was an animal, what would it be?" or "What five things can you do with a paper clip?"
It’s all part of the screening process, said Weachter, to determine if people can think on their feet. Screening questions also determine if a participant fits the demographics and particulars the client is seeking.
ONCE, WHEN LEWAN was called, she didn't pass the screening because she didn't bake from scratch and use Nestle Toll House chocolate chips on a regular basis. Instead, she recommended Suzanne Odom, a friend and fellow teacher who had participated in previous groups.
Odom said the moderators were very good, soliciting feedback from everybody. When she participated in the group for Nestle, the group went off on a tangent comparing recipes; their moderator had to rein them in, focusing on what they were there for.
When Zeman was with the group, she was a certified moderator and traveled around the country. The owner of the company, Frank C. Martin III, can moderate, but companies usually bring in their own moderator.
The qualifications of women who bake from scratch are more limiting than just looking for females, ages 18-22.
Sometimes, the qualifiers can be even more limiting, Carter said. "For example, they might be looking for Asian-American citizens who moved here after World War II and are registered voters," she said. This calls for some creative thinking of ways to find participants; one which the Martin Group almost always delivers on.
"Our participants are well-screened. We are highly rated, and our business keeps growing," said Carter.
Weachter said, "Our job is to get people in here who are articulate, creative and qualified."
EVERY DAY’S DIFFERENT, said Weachter – Martin has done studies on frequent flier miles, banking, cellular phones and music. They also do a lot of medical studies, said Carter.
Both Carter and Weachter enjoy the diversity of the projects. "From my end, I see things that I don't know much about," said Carter.
Participants like Odom enjoy the diversity as well. Before the Nestle study, she was part of a group asked to give opinions on a proposed advertising campaign by Virginia Power.
The group was shown different ads, photographs and copy. "It was interesting to see how it turned out," said Odom. "Some of our feedback was in the ad."
That’s one of the benefits of a focus group, said Carter. "It's fun for people to see the effect [of their decisions]."
In the Nestle study, the company was trying to determine the best vehicle to send out information about new recipes using Nestle's Toll House chips. Odomfelt that the Web site was the best way to distribute tips, and told the focus group researchers, "I like searching the Web site for recipes."
LEWAN HAD A CHANCE not only to participate in a focus group for a product but to evaluate it in her home. It was unusual, but an opportunity that Lewan enjoyed immensely.
After participating in the group conducted by Maytag, the company asked if she would test its Personal Valet at home. They installed the machine, a big self-contained closet that steams clothes, in her home. Lewan gave them regular feedback about the product, which she really liked. She also allowed them into her home at regular intervals to evaluate.
Maytag extended the duration of the evaluation several times, but Lewan didn't mind. Not only did she get to use the Valet, but she was getting paid for it. All told, she figures that she received about $800 for her part in evaluating this product. The Personal Valet has since been released, and Lewan said that she would consider purchasing one for her home.
While the other groups she's participated in haven't been nearly as lucrative, or as interesting, Lewan has enjoyed all of the groups.
"I really love doing them. I've met so many interesting people. It was fascinating to see how worked up people could get over juice," she said, referring to a study of all-natural juice. Lewan is scheduled to participate in a study group with educators for Metro Research this week.
Laura Jones said that Metro has been in business for 30 years. Established originally in Fairfax, it opened its second location in Old Town in 1991.
"We're always looking for people. The more people in our database, the more diverse we are. The screening has become more complicated as clients want more discriminating information," Jones said.